Sonia Gandhi road show takes Varanasi storm

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, where she holds a roadshow at noon to campaign for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

After Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s impressive show on July 31 in Lucknow where he interacted with party workers, Sonia’s roadshow in Varanasi is the second major show of strength in the poll-bound state.

The roadshow will begin from Kachahari during which the party leaders will cover a distance of around eight kilometres in three hours. It will conclude at Englishiyaline where she is expected to deliver a short speech and garland the statue of former Union minister late Kamlapati Tripathi.

She will also offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple later during the day.

The Congress party is hoping Sonia’s roadshow will not only help focus attention on how much Modi managed to deliver for his constituency but also woo upper caste voters who have traditionally supported the BJP.

– Party workers have lined up on both sides of the road to welcome her.

The Congress has pulled up all its resources to make the event a grand success. Every nook and corner of the temple town is festooned with party flags and buntings for the mega show. At the famous roadside tea stalls in Varanasi known as ‘chai ki adi’, the only topic of discussion on Tuesday is Sonia Gandhi’s road show.

“It is from Kashi that Congress will make a comeback in Uttar Pradesh,” veteran Congress leader Vijay Shanker Mehta said